Bird Outings are meant to be a casual, local morning of birding. They are a great time to enjoy birds with others and find new areas to visit. You can work on bird identification by sight and sound. These outings are easy to join or leave at any time during the morning. You don’t have to commit to the entire walk if you have limited energy, ability, or time. All are welcome!
Bird Outing: Cougar Trails
Sunday, November 1st – The Cougar Trails at the WSU-Vancouver campus
Leader: Cindy McCormack
Meeting Time: 8:00 am
Location: Vancouver iTech Prep School parking lot
Registration Required: Email Cindy at vas@vancouveraudubon.org
We will wander along portions of the Cougar Trail system to enjoy some of the wintering and resident birds that use the variety of habitats available along this lovely trail.
Dress for the weather! This trail is a combination of paved, dirt, wood boardwalk, and woodchipped surfaces. There are some hills and rough spots, hiking boots are
recommended if we have some rain before the walk. Route may depend on the group size, trail conditions, and, of course, the birds!
We will meet at 8am in the parking lot of the Vancouver iTech Prep School. No
restrooms available at the parking location, but a portable restroom has been available near the rec office.
For more in-depth information about the accessibility of this site, head to the Birdability Map and search for “Cougar Trails at WSU-Vancouver” to read our site review.
Bird Outing: Strawberry Island
Thursday, November 19th – Strawberry Island Loop in Skamania County
Leaders: Kiara Way and Sam Cable
Meeting Time: 8:30am
Location: Trail Access at the North Bonneville Little League Field
Registration Required: Email Sam at scable@vancouveraudubon.org
Journey with us up the Gorge to wander the Strawberry Island Loop. This trail winds its way through dense stands of riparian woods and along open, grassy fields while the southern edge of the trail greets the Columbia River at one of its narrowest points. These habitats have us hopeful for an array of wintering sparrows, raptors, and rafts of ducks all beneath stunning basalt cliffs stretching up towards the sky. For those with time and interest, we will follow up this outing with a brief scope station of the Bonneville Dam spillway just up the road (especially if our friend, the vagrant Cocos Booby, is still hanging around).
This outing will focus on the western half of the trail loop. Expect a total distance of about 2.3 miles on gravel and hard-packed dirt. The majority of the trail is flat, but towards the end of our route we will we ascend and descend a hill with an elevation gain of about 150 ft. There is an option for participants to remain on entirely flat terrain by skipping this ascent via a shortcut trail. This site has no easy restroom access. The nearest public restroom requires a one mile detour (0.5 miles out and back) from the midpoint of our route.
We hope to provide as much access information as possible with the hope that each individual can make an informed choice about whether this outing fits their accessibility needs. For more in-depth information about the accessibility of this site, check out the Birdability Map and search for “Strawberry Island” to read our site review.
This outing is weather dependent so make sure you are registered so we can keep you in the loop. If you have any questions, contact Sam at the email above.
Field Trips:
Field Trips are birding events that step outside of our immediate local area to explore biomes and target species that we might not be able to find at home. These events tend to involve increased travel and time commitments, lasting anywhere from half a day to multiple overnights throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Field Trip: Wahkiakum County
Thursday, October 29th – Puget Island, Julia Butler Hansen NWR, and Beyond
Leader: Randy Hill
Meeting time: 6:20am (leave by 6:30am)
Meeting Location: Salmon Creek Park & Ride
Registration Required: Register by emailing randy.hill.98642@gmail.com
Meet at Salmon Creek Park & Ride to carpool and leave by 06:30. We will drive up I-5 to Longview, then west on SR-4 to Cathlamet. Primary areas will include Puget Island, Julia Butler Hansen NWR, and far west to Altoona, looking across the bay toward Astoria. Expect migrants and wintering birds across mostly floodplain, fresh and brackish waters, and some mixed forested landscapes.
Spotting scopes will be handy for distant waterbirds and raptors. Limit of four vehicles.
Field Trip: Woodland Bottoms
Wednesday, November 11th
Leader: Randy Hill
Meeting time: 6:30am (leave by 6:45am)
Meeting Location: Salmon Creek Park & Ride
Registration Required: Register by emailing randy.hill.98642@gmail.com
Woodland Bottoms for waterfowl, raptors, cranes, gulls, songbirds and whatever. This will be mostly driving and stopping on dike roads or pullouts, or walking very short distances along the Lewis and Columbia Rivers. Possible addition of Kalama River.
Meet at Salmon Creek Park & Ride to carpool and leave by 06:45; a second meeting point further north (Ridgefield P&R 07:00 or Woodland P&R 07:15) can be arranged for those living north of Salmon Creek or if needing to return early. Expected return time early afternoon, or later if additions.
Bring a spotting scope (radios if you have them), and snacks or lunch. Limit 10 plus leader(s) in 4-5 vehicles.
Please review the current VAS Guidelines and Waiver before registering for a trip.
Safety is a primary concern for Vancouver Audubon, and we ask anyone who is feeling unwell or who has had contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19* or other contagious health issues to stay at home until the risk for infection has passed. However, no public activity can be 100 percent safe. By participating, you accept the risk that you may come into contact with pathogens, including the COVID-19 virus.
For all field trips or other outdoor activities, Vancouver Audubon
requires:
– Participants wishing to carpool must be fully vaccinated**.
– Participants must be fully vaccinated to view through the leader’s or other participant’s spotting scope.
– Field trip leaders have the option of requiring all participants be fully vaccinated for their trips.
*Symptoms include: fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea.
**Vancouver Audubon defines “fully vaccinated” as two full weeks beyond your final COVID-19 vaccine. Each year a new variant vaccine is available and is highly encouraged.
Field trip registration and cancellations:
All field trips, unless otherwise indicated, require pre-registration. This simply involves contacting the leader or person indicated on the announcements, and supplying email address and cellphone #. Vancouver Audubon expects all registrants to attend, so please contact the leader with any cancellations. Some trips may have a wait list, so please be considerate and contact the leader as soon as possible if you have to miss the trip for any reason.
Carpooling:
Vancouver Audubon wants to be sure we conserve as much as possible (including using fuel efficient vehicles), so any field trip that includes some driving will be a carpooling trip unless otherwise indicated. Carpooling is generally arranged at the designated meeting location, but can be arranged in advance for multiple pick-up locations.
Please remember to pay your driver! The recommended amount is $0.30/mile divided by the number of passengers in the vehicle.
Leaders should keep track of mileage and let participants know the total for the field trip.
